Egypt to relaunch zero-customs car import initiative for expats

The zero-customs car import initiative was launched last fall through temporary legislation and ran from October 2022 to May 2023.

Upon conclusion, the initiative, which allows expats to import one personal-use vehicle to Egypt without customs duties or taxes, brought nearly $900 million to the state coffers, falling short of its $2.5 billion target.

The draft law, which will be sent to the House of Representatives for a vote, stipulates that the temporary legislation can be extended for another 3 months upon the Cabinet's approval.

More initiatives for $$
 

Egypt has recently launched various other initiatives to secure more foreign currency to bridge a financing gap estimated at $17 billion through 2026.

The country seeks to bring in $191 billion in annual revenues by 2026, up from the current figure of $70 billion.

Toward achieving these targets, the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) recently extended a 2022 decree allowing foreigners to buy land in new cities in Egypt for hard currency, set to expire in December 2023, for six more months.

The NUCA sold $2 billion of land in Egypt between 1 January and 30 June 2023 under the decree,  Minister of Housing Assem El-Gazzar said in July.

Also in July, the Cabinet issued a decree allowing foreigners to buy real estate properties without restriction but requiring them to pay in hard currency.